Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | John Denis Gray | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Meriden, Warwickshire, England | 9 October 1953|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Hooker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Prop, Hooker, Second-row, Loose forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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John Denis Gray (born 9 October 1953) [1] is an English cricketer, rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played cricket for Warwickshire and Marylebone Cricket Club, as a left-hand bat, and right-arm medium- fast bowler, playing representative rugby union (RU) for England ( 7s), and at club level for Coventry R.F.C., as a Hooker and representative rugby league (RL) for Great Britain and England, and at club level for Wigan, North Sydney Bears (two spells) and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles as a round the corner style goal-kicking prop, hooker, second-row or loose forward during the era of contested scrums. [1]
Gray was born in Meriden, Warwickshire, England on 9 October 1953. He was a pupil at Woodlands Comprehensive School, Coventry.
He represented England (RU) in the 1973 International Seven-A-Side Tournament.
Gray switched to rugby league with English club Wigan, and played at prop, scoring 4 conversions in their 19–9 victory over Salford in the 1973 Lancashire County Cup Final during the 1973–74 season at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington, on Saturday 13 October 1973. [5] Gray won caps for England (RL) while at Wigan in 1975 against France, and Wales, in the 1975 Rugby League World Cup against France, [2] and won caps for Great Britain (RL) while at Wigan in 1974 against France (sub) (2 matches), Australia (2 matches), Australia (sub), and New Zealand (3 matches). [3] Gray was one of the first players to introduce the now routine round-the-corner style of goal kicking to Australia, he won the 1976 Amco Cup 'superstar' prize for player of the competition, he was the 1982 Dally M Award-winning hooker, a series of broken forearms, and constant back pain ended his career in 1983.
John Gray was named on the bench in the North Sydney Bears Team of the Century.